This invention relates to connectors for connecting a rotatable optical fiber to a rotor shaft while maintaining the rotatable optical fiber in axial alignment with a stationary optical fiber.
Certain medical procedures such as in-vivo optical biopsy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) utilize diagnostic and interventional devices in conjunction with optical fibers that provide optical feedback to the clinician. The optical fibers are attached to an imaging console that displays an image or a processor that interprets data. Potential applications of such systems are stationary tissue spectroscopy of polyps and other mucosal tissues, linear scans of various portions of the human anatomy, and cross-sectional images of tubular vessels such as arteries, the gastro-intestinal tract, urological structures, the biliary tree, and neurological vessels.
Procedures such as tissue spectroscopy typically utilize an endoscope, cystoscope, colonoscope, or sigmoidoscope for direct visual feedback. The scope helps direct a biopsy device to a site of interest, such as a polyp or dysplastic or cancerous tissue, and also provides a working channel for the biopsy device, a light source, and an optical path for visual guidance. Other procedures involving optical feedback use trocars for direct access to some parts of the anatomy, such as the breast for breast biopsies, or other areas inaccessible through an orifice.